The present invention generally relates to a cutting tool for severing and dressing coaxial cable. The following patents best exemplify the prior art:
______________________________________ DuBois 1,586,297 Rogoff 2,745,178 Carroll 2,249,515 Davis et al. 2,660,783 Townshend 2,870,538 Townshend 3,012,321 Bliznak 3,461,555 Hayes 3,922,783 ______________________________________
None of the tools disclosed in the prior art are specifically designed for cutting and dressing a coaxial cable. Coaxial cable presents unique problems in cutting, due to its nature and construction. A typical coaxial cable construction includes an outer tube of aluminium or the like which is sheathed in an insulator. A conductor extends coaxially through the tube, and the remaining volume of the tube is filled with a dielectric support material such as plastic foam material.
Prior art cable cutters, which all rely primarily on compression of the jaws for the cutting action, tend to compress and deform the outer tube. The tube must then be restored to its original circular cross-sectional configuration so that it may be received in standard fittings and connectors. This cutting procedure is wasteful of time and labor.